Yu-Gi-Oh! Yuka's Story
by WriterRoxas
Summary: Yuka Hanabira is just an ordinary duellist, with dreams of filling the world with flowers. She has no ultimate destiny to follow, or any ancient enemies to deal with, but she does play Duel Monsters, so sooner or later, trouble will find her. The question is... can she and her friends deal with them? Will these problems endanger more than just a quiet, peaceful life?


"Yuka?"

_What was that?_

"Hey, Yuka?"

_That thing I saw... it didn't look like..._

"Yuka, hello?"

_I... suppose I was just imagining it? Maybe I'm more tired than I th-_

"**YUKA!**"

With a startled yelp, Yuka leaped away from the counter, on which a blonde girl was leaning on, a smug grin on her face.

"Back with me? I never knew you could be so rude, Little Bud!" the blonde laughed, turning her gaze to the side. "What were you even staring at?"

"Jeez... Makoto, you didn't have to yell," Yuka muttered sheepishly, her face flushed slightly from the sudden shock. Stepping back to her original position, the teenaged shopkeeper faced the inevitable teasing to ensue.

Makoto spotted the mirror that seemed to hold Yuka's attention, and her grin widened as her hazel eyes returned to Yuka. "I never knew you were so vain as to admire yourself for hours on end, Little Bud~! And during work hours, too!"

"I-it wasn't hours, was it?" Yuka asked worriedly, and the blonde only laughed.

Once the teasing was over and done with, Makoto remembered her original reason for catching her friend's attention, and promptly purchased a rose bouquet.

"It isn't too cliché, right?" Makoto asked cheerfully, as if she really couldn't care either way, "It's not as if my mother ever asks for an actual birthday gift."

Yuka shook her head, a warm smile on her face, "I wouldn't ever call a gift of flowers 'cliché'. It's a wonderful thing to receive, after all."

"Yeah, you would say that!" Makoto giggled. "Well, you're off work in, like, an hour, right? I'll drop by again and play a few rounds with ya!"

"I would like that," Yuka replied with a small nod of her head. Saying their goodbyes to each other, Yuka glanced around her family-owned flower shop. Seeing no one else in sight, she turned her gaze to the small mirror sitting at one end of the counter.

All she saw was a girl roughly fifteen years of age. Her light, green eyes were not crimson as she had thought. Her hair, blonde that gradually shifted to a bright green as it moved further from the roots and rested upon her shoulders, was not a vermillion mess.

She didn't feel it, but Yuka had to have been tired to see such a strange image. Her hours were only part-time, but maybe the job and her hobby of tutoring the kids were somehow taking its toll...

Yuka Hanabira, like the majority of the world's population, was a 'duelist' - a keen gamer of the 'Duel Monsters' card game, who also taught anyone willing to learn the basics of the game. While she considered herself to just be an average, run-of-the-mill player, the flower girl had unknowingly gained quite a reputation in the game.

Not that you could tell from the way she smiled as brightly as a sun as she served customers in the shop, her polite mannerisms and helpful nature displaying exactly why she was beloved by the locals.

Roughly half an hour after her friend's departure, someone came rushing into the shop. It was immediately clear from the young boy's tear-stained face that the last thing he wanted to do right now was purchase a Camellia.

"Y-Y-Yukaaaaa!" He wailed as the gradient-haired teenager quickly left her post to attend to the boy. "Th-th-they... they t-took my c-c-caaaards!"

"Who did?" Yuka asked soothingly, kneeling in front of the boy and patting his head reassuringly. "When did it happen?"

The boy sniffled, and between sobs, informed her that some thugs had suddenly shown up at the nearby park and forced him and his friends into a duel. They were quickly, and predictably, crushed, their decks confiscated as the 'price'.

Yuka had heard of this happening quite a bit recently. Some gang had popped up several months ago, but the incidents were very infrequent until the last two weeks or so. That it was now happening in this part of the city was very worrying to Yuka.

"Y-Yuka... could you p-please get my cards back?" the boy asked hopefully. Yuka couldn't help but grimace.

"I'd love to, but... I don't think I'd be able to do anything on my own," Yuka admitted, "I'm not that strong a dueli-"

To her great surprise, the young boy practically pressed his face to her own, defiantly yelling, "That's not true! You're the best duelist I know! If Yuka can't beat up a few bullies, then everything I know is a lie!"

"I...I see," Yuka replied, leaning back slightly, "I'm flattered that you think I'm that good, but..."

The two stared at each other silently. The boy's eyes were filled with hope and pleading, while Yuka just looked surprised. It didn't take long for her to relent, however. Regardless of her own misgivings, that young boy needed her help.

"All right..." Yuka nodded," I'll need to close the shop for a little bit, but I'm sure my parents won't mind. Just let me get my duel disk."

* * *

"Bad. Bad. Bad. Terrible. Bad. Oh wow, this is awesome! ...Bad. Bad..." muttered a young man with a bright blue Mohawk, clad mostly in brown clothing. On the back of his sleeveless jacket, the word 'Crawler' was etched. Much like the brown jackets of his two associates, a male and female of similar age, though their hairstyles were not quite as colourful and unique.

Flicking through the cards he'd confiscated, the thug grunted with dissatisfaction as he bagged them, setting the collected cards by his feet. "Man, these kids' cards are just... awful! How the hell d'you last a single turn with those things?!"

"Well, they _are_ just kids," The female shrugged with disinterest, "Even if they had the money to get something better than common trash, I doubt they could even use it properly."

The second male nodded his agreement, adding, "Really, it feels like a waste of time, duelling these wimps. If we have to take their crappy cards, might as well, y'know, _take_ them."

"Eh, crushing them's pretty fun," The first shrugged, standing from his position on a swing. The park had emptied pretty fast once they'd arrived and asserted their power. Some kids were lingering around just outside the park, either glaring defiantly, or crying about losing their decks.

"...Who's that?" asked the girl, noticing someone with a strange mix of blonde and green hair walking towards the park, wearing a simple, sky-blue summer dress underneath a light, pale yellow jacket. A young boy walked nervously alongside her. The duel disk on her arm was noted by the gang members, and a cold grin spread on the apparent leader's face.

"I think that's our latest hit," He said with a chuckle, readying his own duel disk.

Eventually, Yuka entered the park, to the astonishment of the other onlookers. Stopping roughly fifteen feet away from the trio, Yuka spoke to them in a surprisingly cheerful and confident voice, "Excuse me, but you would you three be a part of that gang I've been hearing about?"

Snickering amongst themselves, the Mohawk-bearing gang member stepped forward, his standing at his full height to intimidate his latest prey, "Who wants to know?"

To his surprise, while the young boy rightfully quaked, Yuka merely bowed her head and replied, "Yuka Hanabira, of 'Hanabira Corner', your best resource for any flower that you need. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"...Do you even know who you're talking to?" the thug asked. Yuka simply shook her head, which only served to annoy him further.

"Listen up, then! I'm Daisuke of The Crawlers! I'm one of the stronger members, so if you don't wanna get humiliated, I'd just hand over your cards now!"

Yuka's smile shifted from 'polite' to 'apologetic'. "I'm dreadfully sorry, sir. But I cannot do that. Actually, I was hoping that you would return the cards you had already taken. You've upset several of the children here," She glanced briefly at the crowd keeping their distance.

"She's an idiot!" Daisuke's companions called. "Just beat her so we can leave, already!"

Daisuke glared at the smiling Yuka, "Are you gonna give me your cards, or do I crush you into the dust first?"

Yuka, in reply, raised her arm, the pale yellow duel disk, modelled after Kaiba Corp's basic model, activating. "I am deeply sorry, but I cannot give away my cards, nor can I let you leave with someone else's," she began. "I will have to do my best to defeat you here."

Daisuke and his friends almost buckled with laughter. Yuka, waiting for them to finish, simply turned to her young companion with a small smile, "Please step back. I'll do my best to win for you, okay?"

The boy glanced fearfully at the gang members, but his eyes shone with confidence once he stared at Yuka once more, "I know you can do it! You never lose!"

As he stepped away, Yuka turned to Daisuke once more, his fit of laughter finally subsiding enough for him to activate his own duel disk.

"Would you like to make the first move?" he asked mockingly.

"Oh, thank you!" Yuka replied brightly, apparently completely missing the sarcasm and drawing her first six cards. Grumbling irritably at this, Daisuke drew his first five.

Yuka: 8000

Daisuke: 8000

"Hm..." Yuka stared at her opening hand with a carefree smile, taking her time selecting the cards she wanted to play. Daisuke glare became more and more intense, until he finally yelled for her to make a move. The gradient-haired duellist gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to decide if I should play it safe or not. Um... okay, I'll place a monster in defence mode," Yuka set a monster, a large, holographic card sleeve appearing on the ground before her, "And a card face-down, and end my turn!"

With a monster and a card in her spell/trap zone, Daisuke merely scoffed at her play as he drew a card. "Those little brats back there made better moves than that! Now, I summon Vorse Raider in Attack Mode!"

As a large, muscled, humanoid creature appeared on the field, Daisuke laughed with pleasure.

"How d'ya like that, Girlie?! I'll bet your monster's way too weak to stop my attack!"

"That would be correct," Yuka agreed, once more causing Daisuke to stare in confusion, "Oh, I'll also play my trap card; Ivy Shackles!"

The face-down card flipped up, and suddenly, green vines shot from the ground below Vorse Raider, entangling around its arms as it struggled to break or cut free.

"Hey! What did you do?!" Daisuke roared. Unfazed, Yuka answered;

"He is now treated as a Plant-type monster during my turn."

"...What, that's it?"

Yuka nodded, "I can also draw a card if my trap card is destroyed, but that doesn't really matter at the moment."

Daisuke growled in frustration. Why play such a pointless trap card? The first card she revealed was already worse than every other damn card they'd collected! His companions shouted jeers and taunts towards his opponent, who just kept that stupid smile on her face.

"Whatever! Vorse Raider, destroy that monster!" Daisuke ordered, and Vorse Raider raised its axe, charging forward despite the vines. Slamming its glinting weapon onto the card, it flipped to reveal a Dandylion, feebly raising the leaves that substituted for arms to defend itself.

With Vorse Raider's 1900 ATK, versus Dandylion's mere 200 DEF, it was effortlessly cleaved.

"And a weak monster to go with a useless trap card!" Daisuke taunted confidently. "What else ya got?!"

"My two Fluff Tokens," Yuka pointed out happily, as two balls of fluff descended from the sky, "When Dandylion is sent to the Graveyard, I gain two Fluff Tokens!"

"With... no attack or defence points," Daisuke observed, shaking his head, "You know, I'm not even sure I want to take your crappy deck. I think the Boss'll kick me out if I turned up with those."

Tilting her head in curiosity, Yuka enquired, "Your boss? Why does he want to steal cards?"

"None of your business!" Daisuke grunted, "Now, hurry up and take your stupid turn!"

Drawing her next card, the Plant-duellist smiled with satisfaction, and played the card she just drew, "I'll activate my spell card, The World Tree!"

Behind Yuka, a large tree suddenly sprouted its branches bare. Daisuke glared at it, then his opponent. "And?"

"When a Plant-type monster on the field is destroyed, it gains a Counter," Yuka explained, "I can remove certain amounts to use a different effect."

"Ha! She wants you to destroy her monsters and lure you into a trap!" Daisuke's female companion shouted. "Like that'll help her!"

Meanwhile, the boy hiding behind Yuka smirked. Given the thug's reactions, they had no idea just how devastating Yuka's Tree card could be. Well, they were going to find out very soon.

"I'll also activate the magic card, Fragrance Storm!" Yuka exclaimed, activating the card, "With this card, I can destroy any Plant-type monster on the field and draw a card!"

Daisuke's eyes narrowed, "So you actually have a use for those stupid fluff balls, then?"

"Of course!" Yuka replied with a bright smile, "But I'm not destroying my own monsters!"

And then, to Daisuke's surprise, his Vorse Raider suddenly roared and exploded into pixels, a strange, almost invisible pink air evaporating not long afterward. "Wh-what the-?! But Vorse Raider's a Beast-War-"

And then he remembered the Ivy Shackles trap card. "...Oh, you sneaky little-"

The Tree behind Yuka suddenly sprouted a small amount of leaves as she drew her next card, "If the card I drew was a Plant-type, I can reveal it to draw once more," Yuka announced, displaying the Koa'ki Meiru Gravirose, and then adding another card to her hand.

Currently, while Daisuke had no cards on the field with five in hand, Yuka had her Ivy Shackles and World Tree, both Continuous cards. The Tree had one counter, and she also had five cards in her hand.

"Now, I'll summon the Koa'ki Meiru Gravirose!" Yuka declared, summoning a female-looking creature clad in something resembling a green dress, her head covered in roses, and a rather large, thorny whip. "Gravirose, please reduce my opponent's Life Points!"

Cracking the whip, Gravirose swung her arm, the whip lashing against Daisuke's shoulder. Despite the attack being holographic, and thus, having no physical presence, he couldn't help but flinch. His Life Points fell by 1900.

"And finally, I shall place one more card face-down, "Yuka concluded, adding another card to her spell/trap zone, "and during the End Phase, I must reveal a Plant monster in my hand to keep my Gravirose on the field."

Yuka displayed Hedge Guard to her opponent, who was positively fuming.

"One lucky turn won't win this duel!" He yelled, drawing his next card, "You're goin' down this turn! I activate my magic card, Smashing Ground!"

As soon as the card was played, a large fist came falling from the sky, crushing Gravirose under it. Yuka didn't even seem to notice, maintaining her polite smile to Daisuke.

"This card of mine lets me destroy a monster with the highest DEF on the field!" He boasted with a wide grin. The World Tree sprouted more leaves, which he didn't notice, "And now, your weak little tokens will be crushed! I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf!"

A large, white, four-armed creature formed on the field, growling menacingly towards Yuka. Pointing at her, Daisuke ordered, "Warwolf, crush her feeble attempts at defence!"

The 2000 ATK monster roared and charged forward, crushing one of the Plant user's Fluff Tokens under a gigantic paw. The tree seemed to bloom fully once this happened, and Daisuke confidently ended his turn.

Yuka: 8000, Monsters: 1, S/T: 3

Daisuke: 6100, Monsters: 1, S/T: 0

"So, what're you gonna do, huh? I bet none of your feeble little dandelions or buttercups can stand up to this guy!" he boasted as Yuka drew her next card.

Adding it to her hand, she then activated a magic card from her hand, "I'll play Trade-In, discarding a Level 8 monster to draw two more cards!"

"...Eh?" watching nervously as Yuka sent the card she had just drawn to the grave, he wondered why she would do that. Monsters were useless in the graveyard! So why get rid of something with that high a level?

Then again, since her only monster was crappy little token... and you couldn't conduct a Normal Summon more than once, it was probably a desperate attempt at resistance. Yeah, that had to be it!

Yuka, however, was positively beaming now. "Okay... I think I have a good hand, now! I'll activate the effect of The World Tree!"

"And what effect is that?" Daisuke demanded, as the leaves of the tree suddenly withered and fell, leaving it bare.

"By removing three counters, I can Special Summon a Plant-type monster from my grave!" Yuka exposited cheerfully, "And so, I'll revive one of my bigger monsters; Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!"

Suddenly, Daisuke realised just how wrong he'd been about monsters in the Graveyard being useless.

Seeing a giant camellia form on the field, with the upper body of a beautiful woman sprouting from its centre, he paled at the power of Yuka's card. Its' 2800 ATK score put his Warwolf's 2000 to shame.

"And next, I activate Thorn of Malice!" Yuka declared, playing her Equip spell, "This card increases my monster's attack by 600!"

Tytannial raised her hand; a whip similar to Gravirose's suddenly appearing in her grip, ATK shooting up to 3400.

Before Daisuke could whimper about his bad luck, Yuka played yet another card, "I shall now reveal my face-down trap card: Plant Food Chain! Now my monster gains an additional 500 ATK points!"

"You can't be serious..." the female gang member muttered, shaking slightly, "How did she even..."

"That's gotta be cheating... you can't just..." the third shakily murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, the kids that had been keeping their distance watched in awe as Yuka effortlessly overpowered her opponent. A few of them knew Yuka, having been tutored by her before, or at least heard of the flower-shop girl. But they hadn't expected dominance in a duel against these guys!

The young boy was now grinning widely at the thugs, "Hey, if you return all our cards, you won't have to get humiliated! Whaddaya say?"

"I-I say, shut up!" Daisuke retorted weakly. "Y-you think such a weak move will win the duel?!"

"Of course it won't," Yuka noted, "It's not like I can wipe out your remaining Life Points with just this attack! I can, however, lower them by a fair amount, especially if I summon Lonefire Blossom!"

Appearing alongside the mighty Tytannial, a much smaller, orange plant appeared. With only 500 ATK points, it couldn't exactly contribute much to damage, but that was not the intention, as Daisuke soon found out.

"I now activate my monster's effect!" Yuka declared, "By Tributing a Plant-Type monster I control, I can Special Summon a Plant-type monster from my deck! I'll choose my Fluff token..."

Lonefire Blossom aimed its bulb towards the token, and fired a small flame towards it. Quickly consumed within them, the flame almost disappeared... then suddenly grew to be as large as Tytannial.

"And the monster I summon from my deck..." Yuka continued, taking the card from her deck, "Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms!"

Like Tytannial, this monster was a large flower, from which a woman seemed to sprout from the centre. Also like Tytannial, its base ATK was 2800, but Daisuke watched in horror as it increased to 3100. "Wh-why...?"

"For every Plant monster I control, she gains 100 ATK points," Yuka informed him, her smile as bright and friendly as ever, "And now, I suppose I should conduct my battle phase!"

Daisuke really wished he owned a Mirror Force right around now.

"Tytannial, please attack that monster!" Yuka ordered, and Tytannial swiftly swung the whip. Gene-Warped Warwolf howled in pain, but instead of being destroyed, its stats fell to 1400 ATK and 0 DEF, as his own Life Points fell to 4200.

"The secondary effect of the Thorn of Malice," Yuka pointed out, "It doesn't destroy a monster, but lowers their stats by 600 with every hit. Now, Talaya, if you wouldn't mind...?"

The second princess raised the paper fan she held, and swung. It somehow blew a swarm of cherry blossom petals towards the Warwolf, which effectively shredded the monster, and lowered Daisuke's Life Points to 2500, while The World Tree gained a new counter.

"And finally..." Yuka ordered Lonefire Blossom to attack directly, taking another 500 from Daisuke's Life Points. He was shaking with rage at this point.

"I'll get you for this!" He growled, drawing his next card, "...and with this, I will! I activate Final Destiny!"

Yuka tilted her head thoughtfully, "That sounds dangerous. What does it do?"

Chuckling, Daisuke revealed the card's effect, "I'll discard the five cards in my hand, and destroy everything on your field!"

"Oh my!" Yuka looked only mildly troubled by this revelation.

Dark clouds gathered above the field, and while the spectators looked on with apprehension, Yuka simply kept staring at Daisuke. It was really beginning to unnerve him, but he continued, "Now, say goodbye to your precious monsters! And everything else you have, too!"

With this ominous declaration, bolts of black thunder smashed onto the playing field, with the clear intent on removing all (holographic) life from the vicinity.

To Daisuke's horror, however, two things happened that really shouldn't have happened. When her two spells and two traps were removed, she drew a card, thanks to the secondary effect of her Ivy Shackles granting her a free draw if they were destroyed while face-up, and only her Talaya monster was destroyed. And then, due to the effect of her Plant Food Chain, she was able to bring back a Plant-type monster from her graveyard. She chose to summon Dandylion in defence mode.

"The main effect of Talaya," Yuka helpfully pointed out, "Is that, while she is on the field, all other Plant-type monsters are protected from destruction by card effects! So my Tytannial and Lonefire Blossom remain safe."

Daisuke stared in horror at the mess he just put himself in.

"Hm, you have no other cards left to play," Yuka observed, "My turn?"

Taking his pleading whimpers as a 'yes', Yuka drew her next card, and immediately ordered Tytannial to end the duel. As the whip cracked across his chest, Daisuke fell to the ground, his Life Points plummeting to 0.

The holographic displays disappeared, and Yuka stepped forward, "Somehow, I managed to win. Would you please return the stolen cards now, sir?"

Daisuke merely gaped, eyes wide with awe as he beheld his opponent. Yuka's smile quivered slightly, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious, "Um, sir?"

"Daisuke!" his associates rushed to his side, helping him to his feet, "Daisuke, man, how did that happen? Did ya let her win or something?!"

"No way! Yuka beat you with her awesomeness!" the young boy taunted from his safe position behind Yuka. "Now give us back our cards!"

The three gang members glanced at each briefly, then advanced on Yuka, who stood her ground.

"Or, we could take _her _cards," the female offered with a cold grin, "The Boss'll be happy with a deck like that, I think!"

Yuka, despite her smile, felt very much intimidated. It was just her luck to end up with the one group that didn't abide by the unspoken law of 'card game results dictate everything'. Still, she somehow refrained from fleeing, probably because she didn't want to let down the boy, or anyone else watching.

"Well? Give us your cards, and maybe we'll forget about the disrespect you showed us!" Daisuke's other friend sneered, "C'mon, we're real merciful!"

"...These cards are my own," Yuka replied, doing her best to hide the fear in her voice, "I built this deck for my use only... it can't just be taken and used by someone else."

"...Okay," Daisuke replied. "Give us your deck. Now."

"Why don't you bullies leave her alone!" someone yelled. From the watching crowd, a young girl advanced, obviously as scared as Yuka was, but walking forward nevertheless. She came to a stop beside Yuka, giving her best glare to the thugs, "She beat one of you, and she can beat the rest! Keep my cards if you have to, but don't just take her's when you lost!"

Before the gang members could turn their threats to the girl, the rest of the onlookers came forward too, voicing their resistance. Yuka soon found herself surrounded by several boys and girls, each glaring down the thugs, who looked unsure of what to do. Then a mobile phone rang. A quick glance at the caller had Daisuke answer it immediately, turning away from the crowd, "Boss?"

Listening in on his side of the conversation, everyone present heard his muttering, "Uh huh... sorry, Boss, we were held up... some punk girl... w-well... um... about that... I-I'm sorry, Boss, her deck was- what?! Boss, are you serious?! No, no, I didn't mean any disrespect, o-okay!"

Left shaking from whatever this 'Boss' had said, Daisuke muttered silently to his two companions, glared at Yuka and her entourage, then said, "Go get them, then."

Silently, the female walked towards the swing set, picking up a satchel. Returning, she simply threw them at Yuka's feet, scowling.

"All right, Anju, Takeru, we're goin'," Daisuke grunted bitterly, turning and leading his associates away. Everyone simply watched this in stunned silence for a while, until the trio had long left the area. Then a loud cheer erupted as everyone flocked around their saviour, showering the bashful teenager with praise and gratitude.

* * *

"Seriously?! Three gang members and you beat them all at once?!" Makoto gasped in awe, leaning her whole body over the shop's counter, "Jeez, Little Bud, when did ya get _that _good?!"

"It wasn't three at once..." Yuka corrected with a self-conscious laugh, "I just... got lucky and happened to beat one of them... then they returned all the cards they took."

Makoto turned and hopped into a seated position on the counter, leaning back slightly to glance at her friend with a teasing smile, "'Got lucky'? You had control of the entire match, from the sounds of things! In fact, when have you ever lost to _anyone_?"

"...To you, just last week?" Yuka reminded Makoto, who giggled with satisfaction.

"Now _that_ was luck, Little bud!" Makoto pointed out cheerfully, "Face it; you're the best duellist in the city! You're the closest we have to a Yugi Muto!"

Yuka's cheeks reddened slightly at the compliment. Yugi Muto, as literally everyone knew, was the best duellist around, and had been for the past eight or so years. To be compared to him was like...

"The sun and the moon?" Yuka wondered aloud.

"...Uh, what?"

"We're that different," Yuka continued thoughtfully, "Yugi is the greatest duellist in the world; pretty much undefeated... I'm a girl who runs a flower shop. There isn't any comparison there."

Makoto stared in disbelief at her friend for a moment, then sighed and swung her legs over the counter to better face her friend, "Yuka, you never pay attention to your own skills, do you?"

"Hm?" Yuka tilted her head questioningly.

"...Tell ya what, next time there's a local tournament, I'm putting your name down," Makoto sighed, "Then, when you place first without losing a single life Point, maybe then you'll notice that there's a reason every kid for five blocks wants you to tutor them."

Yuka, having no idea how to respond to that, simply nodded, and turned her attention to the flowers displayed on the counter. The mirror stood forgotten.

* * *

Within the abandoned, dilapidated warehouse, The Crawlers milled around, talking, messing around or glowering at a patch on the wall. The only furniture it contained were several empty or broken crates and boxes, with one patched and worn couch sitting at the far end. Upon this couch sat someone with thick, messy green hair, bordering on pure black. She sat with one foot resting upon the couch, arm draped over the raised knee as she watched three of her gang enter.

They slowly approached her as the others turned to watch. Daisuke looked especially nervous when they finally came to a stop, several feet away from their Boss.

"...So, you got beat, huh?" their boss grunted with disinterest. Daisuke nodded, "Well, how did you manage that, then?"

"Th-this girl I told ya about... sh-she must've cheated or something!" He blurted out, "I-I almost had her, boss! I swear!"

"'Almost' isn't quite the same as 'got her', though," the boss pointed out, "Well, did you return the cards, then?"

He nodded, and opened his mouth to enquire about that, but a subtle throat-clearing from Anju told him that he probably shouldn't.

Placing both bare feet upon the floor, the dark-haired girl leaned forward, resting her chin upon her hands, "...Did you happen to catch her name?"

"Uh... I think some kid was calling her 'Yuka'," Takeru replied, trying to recall what had been said.

"...Yuka Hanabira," Anju recalled with a nod, a small frown on her face, "...Of 'Hanabira corner' or something."

Their boss glanced at them with raised eyebrows. "...Seriously?"

"Uh, yeah. Why, boss? Do you know her?" Daisuke asked, and she shook her head, a small grin on her face.

Chuckling to herself, the barefooted gang leader rose to her feet, placing her hands in her jacket pockets. "Got school tomorrow, so I'm headin' off."

"Y-you're going to school?" Takeru gasped, "But, boss... you've skipped the last three weeks!"

"And? Still enrolled, aren't I?" She grunted back. "Besides, I need knowledge, and what better place to get it, right?" she grinned at the trio, who looked too scared to reply.

Simply walking past them, she stopped at the warehouse's entrance to say, "By the way, if you fail at such an easy task again, I'm taking your cards and force you to watch as I put them through a shredder, all right?"

"Y-yes, boss..." Daisuke gulped.

"Good. 'Night, then." With a lazy wave, the dark-haired youth left her gang members to their own devices.

* * *

**Sure has been a while since I attempted something serious outside of Touhou.**

**So yeah, Yugioh. Fun game. I like it.**

**Anyways... this was fun to write, even if the duel was short and hilariously one-sided. Don't worry, that won't be the norm (neither will stupid opponents), but hey, an introductory duel to give you an idea of our heroine's style isn't a bad thing, right?**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this, and continue to do so. And if I make any mistakes in a card's effect, feel free to correct me, and I'll fix it as soon as possible.**


End file.
